Back on auction block: Turpin 'torture' house starting bid at $177,000

David and Louise Turpin are charged with 49 counts related to child abuse and torture. They face life in prison if convicted.
Palm Springs Desert Sun

The Turpin home sits empty on Muir Woods Road in Perris. It used to be occupied by 13 malnourished siblings who were removed in January. Their parents were arrested on suspicion of child abuse and torture.(Photo: Colin Atagi/The Desert Sun)

The public will once again have the opportunity to bid on the Perris home that previously belonged to David and Louise Turpin, the Southern California couple accused of abusing their children in a suburban tract home about a year ago.

Beginning Saturday, the auction will reopen with a starting bid of $177,255, according to the auction site, operated by realty firm Hudson & Marshall. The auction will occur 10 days after an initial auction closed with a bid of $310,360.

The previous auction, which began Dec. 29, lasted four days. The auction website did not mention the Turpin case or any of the alleged crimes that were committed within the home.

It was not clear on Tuesday why the house was put back on the auction block.

Bids hit $200,000 on the first day, then increased to $300,000 on Jan. 1, according to the auction site.

The tract home, which sits in the middle of a newer housing development in Perris, a suburb about 70 miles east of Los Angeles, has been vacant for about a year.

On Tuesday, the house sat empty. A blue curtain hung in the front window while an alarm chirped from inside the dwelling. Part of a window screen appeared to have been cut out from the front window.

In August 2014, the home initially sold for $351,000. The foreclosure took place while the Turpin couple remained in the Riverside County jail in November 2018, according to Zillow.com.

Following their January 2018 arrest, David and Louise Turpin were charged with numerous counts of torture and false imprisonment, child abuse and cruelty to a dependent adult related to some of their 13 children.

David and Louise Turpin each could face about 100 years in prison if convicted. Their trial date has been set for Sept. 3.

Shane Newell covers breaking news and the western Coachella Valley cities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs. He can be reached at Shane.Newell@DesertSun.com, (760) 778-4649 or on Twitter at @journoshane.